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TABLE OF CONTENTSInventory |
Guide to the Lester Family of Southold Papers
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Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator | Lester family | |
| Title | Lester Family of Southold Papers, | |
| Dates: | 1764-1890 | |
| Abstract: | The papers may be said to be personal papers, that is, there are few documents which reflect on any of the offices held at one time or another by the Lesters. Essentially, the collection consists of some of the papers of Thomas Lester, Sr. and Thomas Lester, Jr., with small portions consisting of the papers of Mary Lester, and the Albertson Family. The collection was purchased for an unspecified sum from the Weathervane Curio Shop In October, 1938. It totals about 1 cubic foot consisting of some 440 individual documents, covering the years ca 1800-1870. | |
| Extent: | 2 boxes, .9 cubic feet | |
| Identification: | L-4 | |
| Location: | The material is located in the Archives at Queens Library. | |
Historical/Biographical Note
The Lester Family of the Town of Southold was one of the old families of Long Island. Unfortunately, however, not too much is known of its history. Thomas S. Lester, Sr. whose papers form the earliest segment of the collection was the son of Sylvester Lester and was born in 1781. By profession he was a lawyer and, according to the historian Benjamin Thompson held such offices as District Attorney of Long Island and Assemblyman at various periods of his life. In 1810 he married Mary Halsey Albertson, daughter of William Albertson. Mr. Lester died at the age of 36 on September 13, 1817. The executors of his estate were Seth H. Tuthill and Ebenezer W. Case. According to a document found in this collection and dated 1822, Mrs. Polly H. Lester (perhaps a sister of Thomas Lester, Sr.) is listed as guardian of Thomas Lester, Jr., one of perhaps two or possibly three children of Thomas and Mary. This may possibly indicate that Mrs. Lester may have passed away at this time.
Thomas Storrs Lester, Sr. born 5 Oct 1785 died 24 Apr 1867 married 17 Jan 18l1. His wife was Mary Halsey Albertson born probably 1788 Southold Presbyterian Church Mary was the daughter of William Albertson and Sarah Conklin. William’s first wife was Mary Halsey. William named a daughter for his first wife, one for his second wife, one for his mother, and one for his second wife's older sister who had died at age 25. In each such case he used the full name Christian and maiden or family. As such, the note in the introduction of your sheets about Mrs. Polly H. Lester being a possible sister of Thomas is in error. Mary Halsey Albertson Lester was called "Polly" by her family -not an unusual occurrence. Polly H Lester was the widow Mary H. Lester. My grandmother has always referred to her horse-hair couch as Aunt Polly's. One of her (Polly's) sisters married Hutchinson H. Case. Albertson's second wife Sarah Conklin was the granddaughter of Joseph Wickham. This information is from a letter by Diane F. Perry of the Suffolk County Historical Society to Wesley L. Baker, May 24, 1976.
Little is known of Thomas Lester Jr. whose papers form a substantial part of this collection. According to an article written by the historian Paul Bailey in the newspaper "Babylon Leader11 for June 21, 1951, Mr. Lester spent most of his life on a farm in Southold. Quoting another historian, Pelletreau, Bailey states that when Mr. Lester died, he left an estate valued at $300,000. Judging from documents in the collection, it is known that at various times during his life, Thomas Lester, Jr. was a Commissioner of Common Schools for the town of Southold; an assessor of Southold; a treasurer of the Southold Academy. Perhaps he was a lawyer also. Thomas Lester died in 1885.
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Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Lester Family also include some papers the Albertson family with whom there was a marriage relationship, as well as some papers of two or three other families. The provenance of the collection is uncertain. It is probable, however, that the Albertson papers are found because there was, as just indicated, a marriage relationship and they may have been given to Mary Albertson Lester; as well as because there was a court case between the two families, and the papers may at one time been used in the cases. The presence of papers of other families may be explained by the fact that they were probably once part of legal or real estate dealings. By and large these papers are made up of real estate deeds.
The papers may be said to be personal papers, that is, there are few documents which reflect on any of the offices held at one time or another by the Lesters. Essentially, the collection consists of some of the papers of Thomas Lester, Sr. and Thomas Lester, Jr., with small portions consisting of the papers of Mary Lester, and the Albertson Family. The collection was purchased for an unspecified sum from the Weathervane Curio Shop In October, 1938. It totals about 1 cubic foot consisting of some 440 individual documents, covering the years ca 1800-1870.
Papers of Thomas S. Lester, Sr. The Papers of the elder Mr. Lester are dated ca 1802-1819 and consist of about 60 documents. Among them are one or two documents belonging to his father, Sylvester Lester. A very small number of Thomas Lester's papers may also be included in the last series of his son’s papers, also described in this Inventory. The papers are arranged into the following series: Letters Received, Bills of Costs and Related Documents, Land Indentures and Related Documents, Financial Documents, Miscellaneous Documents, Estate Papers.
Letters Received, 3 items, dated 1804, 1816, 1818.
Bills of Costs and Related Documents, costs are itemized lists of expenses maintained by lawyers for court cases in which they were involved. All costs were signed by the judge who heard the case, in these instances, a judge of the Suffolk County Court of Common Pleas, for the purpose of leveling taxes. Included are several other court documents, referring to cases in which Mr. Lester acted as lawyer for one of the involved parties, 1805, 1808-1813, undated, ca. 27 items.
Land Indentures and Related Documents, these Indentures or real estate deeds concern land transactions made between Mr. Lester and others and concern property in Suffolk County, ca. 1808-1812, ca. 6 items.
Financial Documents This small group of documents consists largely of promissory notes made between Lester and others, ca. 1807-1816, ca. 12 items.
Miscellaneous Documents included in this small grouping is part of a notebook containing some minutes of a committee appointed “on behalf of the Volunteer company of exempted infantry …”; a document involving a court case between Mr. Lester and others; a 1769 deed involving land owned by Sylvester Lester; and a notice (blank) issued by Mr. Lester as District Attorney; and parts of two volumes (Vol.1 and Vol.8) of what was originally at least a set of eight volumes of notebooks titled "Thos. Lester’s Quotiditions", ca. 1769, 1802-1816, ca. 11 items.
Estate Papers a small series of financial documents dealing with Mr. Lester’s estate which was placed under his executors, Seth H. Tuthill and Ebenezer W. Case, 1818-1819, ca. 7 items.
Papers of Mary Lester These papers of Mary Lester consist only of about 15 documents grouped into one series, Letters Received.
Letters Received all or nearly all of these letters were written to Mrs. Lester by her husband, several of them while the latter was serving in Albany. One item (dated 1809) was addressed before marriage, hence Mrs. Lester’s maiden name of Albertson appears Most letters are dated 1814 and one is dated 1823, ca. 15 items.
Papers of Thomas S. Lester, Jr. The papers of the younger Mr. Lester are dated ca. 1826-1876 consisting of about 250 documents. The majority reflected on Mr. Lester's earlier years. Included in this sub-group is a small amount of undated documents, which may fall into either the Thomas Lester, Sr. papers or the Thomas Lester, Jr. Papers. Because of similarity of names and lack of clues in the documents themselves, it is hard to determine the correct group. Mr. Lester’s papers are arranged in the following series: Letters Received, Land Indentures and Related Documents, Financial Documents, Court Papers, Miscellaneous Documents, Undated Documents-Lester Sr. and/or Lester Jr,
Letters Received a fairly voluminous series, 1820s – 1881, undated. The earliest dated letter is addressed to Mrs. Polly Lester, guardian of Thomas Lester, Jr. when the latter was a child. All other letters, with but 2 or 3 exceptions, are addressed to Mr. Lester. Though the vast majority of letters are addressed to Southold, a few others bear such other locales as Huntington or New York City. No one theme or subject permeates these letters, and they deal with both personal family matters, and business affairs. Among some of the correspondents are Barnabas Conkling, Samuel H. Moore, S. Huntington, Silas Wood, J. P. Wlckham, John Storrs, J. Wickham Case, Tuthill Albertson, S. Linnington, B. R. Prince, William A. Prince and G.H. Gleason.
Land Indentures and Belated Documents these indentures or real estate deeds concern land transactions made between Mr. Lester and others concerning property in Suffolk County, ca. 1831-1858, ca. 8 items.
Financial Documents promissory notes form the vast amount of items in this series. Among other items are found some receipts, a fragmentary account book,(several pages torn out) and several documents involving the sale of the vessel "Prudence" of Southold. The vast number of documents is dated in the 1830s with only a very small amount for later years, ca. 1827-1845, 1851-1853, 1876, ca. 70 items
Court Papers A very small series consisting of documents concerning a case or cases held in the Suffolk Court of Common Pleas in which Mr. Lester or his mother, and several others were involved, ca. 1826-1845, ca. 7 items.
Miscellaneous Documents, among the items in this small grouping is one small notebook diary for the period of Jan-Feb 183O (several pages torn out); 2 composition notebooks, ca. 1828-1829; a listing of books presumably belonging to Mr. Lester; two army documents; an insurance policy; and an artist’s sketch of a monument to be erected in the Southold Cemetery, ca. 1828-1876, ca. 11 items.
Undated Documents -Lester Sr. and/or Lester Jr. because of name similarities it is difficult to determine if the documents in this series are part of the papers of Thomas Lester, Sr. or those of his son. It is a very small series, however, consisting only of about 10 items. Among them is a Copy of the Patent of the Town of Southampton; a (receipt?) for preparing dyes; and brief testimonials regarding cures of persons who were seriously ill.
Papers of the Albertson Family It is not known how Albertson Family papers (also a Southold Family) came to be among those of the Lester Family. However, Thomas Lester, Sr. married an Albertson, and there may well have been similar ties among some other members of the families. There was also a court case involving both families, and some of these papers may possibly have been used in this case. More likely, however, since the vast majority of the documents which comprise these papers are real estate indentures or deeds, said deeds may have ex changed hands during the transfer of properties. Virtually the only mentioned members of the Albertson Family are William, Josiah and Joseph Albertson. In some cases there are possibly two individuals with the same name. The Papers are not very voluminous. They are divided into the following two series: Land Indentures and Related Documents, Miscellaneous Documents.
Land Indentures and Related Documents these indentures or deeds refer to land in Suffolk County. Included are several documents which trace various Southampton land grants given to Richard Albertson, 1769-1843, undated.
Miscellaneous Documents there are about 32 items in this series, the earliest being dated 1764, the latest, 1859, the majority being for the 1820s and 1830s. Among the items found are the pro bate of William Albertson’s will (1764); and indenture for service made between a young apprentice, William Chatfield Booth and Josiah Albertson (1815); a small composition book probably maintained by Josiah Albertson as a young boy; a notebook giving “A true and perfect Inventory of all the Goods, Chattels and Credits of Josiah Albertson, late of the town of Southampton ...”(l820); appointment certificate of Josiah Albertson as an Ensign (1842); and a letter addressed to Josiah Albertson, Jr. in his capacity as Overseer of Highways for District 18 submitting a "list of persons over and above the age of twenty one years residing in road district No. 18”.
Papers of the Reeve Family The provenance note found in the description of the Albertson Family papers applies in substance to the Reeve papers. The Reeves also were from the town of Southold. The vast amount of documents in this sub-group is land indentures or deeds, virtually all of them dated in the 18th century, several going as far back as the 1720s, ca. 21 items.
Papers of Various Other Families The provenance note found in the description of the Albertson Family papers applies in substance to this sub-group. Dated principally in the 19th century, several being dated as late as the 1880s or early 1890s, these papers consist of various types of documents but are primarily wills and land indentures. The most frequently mentioned family is the Smith family of various localities in Suffolk County. Some other families (mainly of Southold area) mentioned in the documents are Halsey and L'Hommedieu.
Addendum to the Miscellaneous Documents Series of the Papers of Thomas Lester, Jr. The three documents described on this page, in one way or another, refer to the Clinton Academy of West Hampton. It is not clear as to whether they fall into the Thomas Lester, Sr. or Thomas Lester, Jr. sub-groups – probably the first two are Sr. and the last, Jr. At any rate, they have been placed together for convenience. The items were previously uncatalogued with another collection.
Letter addressed to Thomas S. Lester from Mrs. Jeremiah Miller. This letter. is actually written on the reverse side of a printed Prospectus issued by the Academy, and was intended to convey the prospectus to Mr. Lester who had requested a copy. It is dated 1814?
Document titled "A Catalogue of Clinton Academy Library" About 50 book titles are listed. Item is undated but it probably was written about 1800-1820.
A one sheet hand-written publication titled "Ladies Guide" Bears date of January 31, 1828 and is listed as being Vol. 1. No. 2. A column in it states that the publication "is printed... by Thomas S. Lester and Theodorus Miller in Clinton Hall...". This last item seems to be more in the nature of a jest aimed at the girls in the Clinton Academy.
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Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into the following Sub-Groups:
| Papers of Thomas S. Lester, Sr. | |
| Papers of Mary Lester | |
| Papers of Thomas S. Lester, Jr. | |
| Papers of the Albertson Family | |
| Papers of the Reeve Family | |
| Papers of Various Other Families |
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Creator of item, date of item (if known), identification of item, if a photograph its control number. The Lester Family of Southold Papers, Archives at Queens Library, Queens Borough Public Library.
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions. Manuscripts are only available in the Archives at Queens Library, please call (718) 990-0770 for hours. Manuscript users will be required to complete the division's Manuscript Usage Form and deposit their photograph identification or Queens Borough Public Library card with a staff member. The identification will be returned to the user after she/he has returned the material. Manuscript users will deposit all their personal items behind the reference desk. Manuscript users must use the division's loose sheets of paper for note taking. To reiterate, no pen of any type is permitted. Paper and a pencil are available upon request. Manuscript users may be required to use special handling procedures depending on the conditions of the material.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
- Archives at Queens Library
- Queens Borough Public Library
- 89-11 Merrick Boulevard
- Jamaica, NY 11432
- Phone: (718) 990-0770.
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Access Points
Subject Family Names:
- Albertson Family
- Lester Family
Subject Places:
- Southold (N.Y.)
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Inventory
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
